Creation
by Psianabel
Summary: The creation of your own happy future only happens when you pursuit your dreams. And for Sice it happens to be the chef of her girlfriend's orphanage. But for the next generation to come, this creation means living in a world of peace and happiness. (Type 0 Week Day 4, Happy Ending AU, One Shot)


That Sice would eventually cook for a bunch of small hungry mouths she'd never expected, let alone that she would own a huge kitchen with every utensil she could ever imagine.

Four large pots seethed on the stove, each of them having the same ingredients that Sice single handed selected herself. Soup stood on the plan today, or more precisely flan soup – easy to make, albeit time-consuming, nutrient-rich, and low-calorie. Perfect for the mass amount of children living here.

Many of the kids love it, though some found the wobbly consistence odd and icky. Sice couldn't blame them. She too had to get used to it, first time eating it when she arrived with her classmates in Akademeia, and it was definitely different from the food she got from Arecia.

Mother's food was a godsend and since then, the dream of recreating those wonderful dishes lingered forever inside her. Now that the war was over, it was finally time to lay down her weapon and swing the wooden spoon instead.

Now here she stood in the kitchen, her own holy realm, preparing the food for children that lost their homes in the war – the children she and Seven took care of.

Equipped with a broad wooden spoon Sice hummed a carefree melody, keeping her eyes steady on the pots right in front of her. They simmered a bit, just the way they were supposed to.

Perfect.

Soon the next ingredient needed to be added, until then she got a bit spare time to lean back for a while. She grabbed a nearby water bottle and took a sip of the cold water.

But right before she closed her eyes to enjoy the cold drink, in the corner of her eyes she noticed a moving shadow – small and barely visible, accompanied by giggling and a tiny hand grabbing the corner of kitchen unit. A curious blue eye lurked behind it and scanned the situation, white hair carelessly falling out of the hiding spot.

Heh. Of course.

Sice smiled while she finished her drink, setting the bottle down again without turning her gaze to her obvious stalker she just noticed.

The hand on the furniture vanished, just like the shadow did, unfortunately not without any noise. The lumbering of the tiny feet on kitchen tiles ringed in Sice's ears and it was more than easy to make out where the shadow might appear next.

It was a little game that happened from time to time and Sice never got tired of that. Now that she had a few minutes to spare, she could just as well give in to it.

She tilted her head in the direction where she expected her intruder to appear next and immediately the shuffling stopped, followed by low swear words that got cut-off mid-sentence.

"Don't let your mom hear that." Sice snickered and turned to her pots again, briefly checking if everything is still in check.

"Mom! How can you find me that fast? That's unfair." Grumbling, the intruder finally revealed themselves. The little girl stepped out of her oh-so-perfect hiding spot and rubbed over her forehead. "I was so sure I did better this time."

"You still have a lot to learn if you wanna sneak up on me, Naju." Putting the lid back on the pot, Sice again turned to the kid's direction, smiling at the little girl. "Are you sneaking away from the other kids again?"

"Yeah. I need a break from them."

Sice could only snort. "Too much trouble?"

"Mhm." Najuro inched closer to Sice and sighed. "Sometimes, they get really on my nerves."

"Come here then." Sice patted her on her head, earning a small squeal from her. She knew that so well from her own past, remembering all the trouble she had when many people were around. "I'll save you from the trouble."

"Thanks, mom."

Najuro, her daughter, was truly a mixture of her and Seven. On one hand she couldn't stop worrying about the kids she lived with in the orphanage, on the other hand she enjoyed time on her own and sometimes needed space.

Which wasn't that easy from time to time, considering the orphanage housed more children she could count on her hands, some always wanting attention from her. But just like her other mother, Najuro usually managed it with bravery.

"Oh, is this our lunch?" Najuro poked her head just over the edge of the kitchen unit, her chubby hands gripping the counter so she could push herself up the few centimeters that were missing. "I can smell it."

"Hey, remember what I told you."

"Oh." She slumped down again when Sice patted on her back. "... 'First, wash your hands before you do anything in the kitchen' was it right?"

"You got it, kiddo."

She ran off and Sice smilingly shook her head. She didn't mind having her around when she cooked for everyone, Najuro was more than once a great help to her already and with that she actually had the chance to spent some time with her daughter without anyone else involved.

And both of them really enjoyed these little alone times a lot.

Only a short minute later, Najuro lumbered back to the kitchen where Sice already waited for her.

"There, all washed!"

"Good then. Do you want to see what I'm cooking now?" Knowing already the answer, Sice picked her up, trying not to groan. "You're getting really heavy, you know."

Placing her on her shoulders, Najuro giggled. "You're just getting old, mom."

"I could say the same to you."

They both snickered now while Sice reached above her, trying to poke her in her sides, but gave up after just one attempt.

"Are you sitting comfortably?"

"Yeah. … Yeah I'm good." Najuro said after she tucked Sice's ponytail away from her face and held lightly on Sice hair, now having a good sight on the pots on the stove. "Oh, are you making soup?"

"Mhm, flan soup." Sice grabbed a lid from a pot and steam rose immediately from it, needing for Najuro back away a bit not to get hit by the hot air. "... Still need to wait a few minutes before I can continue, so … Naju, why do you have trouble with the kids? Having a fight again?"

Najuro grimaced and placed her chin right on Sice's hair. "Do I have to talk about that?"

"I'm not your mom who instantly knows what's going on and I really wanna know what's bothering you, you know that, yeah?" She rubbed over Najuro's leg. "You don't have to bottle up your feelings and hide them."

The little girl stayed silent for a few seconds before she answered, her words mumbled against Sice's hair. "I was talking about how I want to go to Akademeia one day and become the best one in my class, but then someone said how I needed to live there if I want to go and be away from everyone. … But I don't want to be alone, I …"

"Naju." Sice sighed.

It was a ridiculous topic that came up many times now lately. Since Sice and Seven talked about a few shenanigans they did while they were in Akademeia, Najuro couldn't wait to go finally to school. Downside was that her fear of being alone came along, too.

Sometimes, she and Najuro were way too similar in some topics.

With Orience united and without the Crystals' powers, Akademeia functioned as a regular school that everyone in Orience could attend, regardless of where the person came from – a center of unification and peace to all the Crystal states. The pupils that attended Akademeia weren't considered as "cadets" anymore and without the war, things proceeded way more peaceful.

The fear of suddenly getting deployed in a war with a chance of never coming back was non-existent – Sice wouldn't want to send her daughter to a school with such a chance anyways.

With a new generation growing up without a war, the creation of a new, better life was the priority – exactly what Sice and her classmates fought for so many years ago.

And Sice just wanted to give her daughter everything.

"C'mon, you're just five years old, alright? You still have so many years to go before you worry about going to Akademeia. You know you can only enroll there if you're 12, right?" Sice began. "And not only that, you won't be the only one from the orphanage to go. I'm sure plenty will go with you."

Najuro sniffled and dug her hands deeper in Sice's hair to the point Sice almost winced.

"Hey, come here." Sice lifted her from her shoulders and embraced her in her arms, patting over her head to calm her down. "There is really no need for you to worry about that. We're here for you, you hear me? We're your family and no one has to walk alone."

Even after all these years, sentences like those pinched still deep in her memories from the past – memories that were the reason why she grew so distant and cold towards everyone else. She had to learn a lot over the course of time and Seven was her steady companion in everything she tried to get better with herself.

Now, 15 years later after the war ended, here she was with her own family she created together with her wife, managing to leave behind most of her past.

"You know how I had to leave your mom three years alone after we graduated? I could barely sleep in the first weeks after we went our own ways. But I always remembered that one day we will see each other again and life will be bright again. And the same will be happening to you too then, I'm sure."

"... Three years without seeing each other?" Her sniffles were almost stilled. "That is so long."

"We wrote letters and held contact all the time. Well, I wrote mostly, because I was busy traveling and usually wasn't at one place for too long. But when I did receive a message from her, all my doubts and fears were gone, because there I knew I did the right thing."

"You know, I never expected you to write letters to me." Both Sice and Najuro looked up at the sudden voice coming from the door. Seven leaned against the door frame, chuckling when she came closer to the two of them. "Especially not such sweet written once – so full of sayings how much you missed me. But there I knew you finally admitted to yourself that there are people out there who care for you."

"Hey now, I-"

"Mama!"

Najuro jumped away from Sice, who in the meantime was busy rubbing over her reddened cheeks, and ran over to Seven, hugging her legs.

"Hey honey, there you are. I was searching for you." Briefly Seven stroked over her hair. "Next time you tell me where you're going before you run off, okay?"

"Oh. … Sorry, mama. I just ran to mom and …"

"Yeah, she was with me and everything is fine." Sice caught Seven's gaze, nodding to her in understanding. Obviously Seven knew what must have happened.

"Well, then I'm relieved." Seven exhaled deeply. "Hey Naju, can you help me set the table? I can't carry that many plates."

"Sure!" The little girl bumped her fist in the air before she ran off.

Seven took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. "I was worried after she just stormed off."

"Huh. Was the fight that big? It didn't feel like it was one." Sice said and turned to her pots again. They started to boil in the meantime. "Are you hungry for some flan soup?"

"Flan soup, hm?" With gentle hands Seven wrapped her arms around Sice's middle and placed her chin on Sice's shoulder, feeling how Sice fell back in her arms. A smile appeared on both of their faces and Sice tilted her head to Seven, giving her a peck on her cheek.

"You can't expose me like that in front of our daughter …"

Seven chuckled and returned the kiss. "She knows you're actually a sweet angel, you know that."

"Hm, maybe." She stirred a bit in the soup. "So I … I tried to tell her that she isn't alone, because she started again with … that again."

"Yeah, I noticed. She really does come after you." Seven took a deep breath. "But I'm glad you seemed to talked her out of that. Good to see her happy that fast again." Another kiss. "I'm proud of you."

"Seems like I don't suck as a mom after all. Good to know after all these years, hah."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're a great mother, I wouldn't have managed raising her alone and look at her now. Almost a splitting image of you." Seven slowly removed her arms from Sice and backed away again. "Okay I need to look after the kids again, how long do you still take?"

" … 20min?" She looked at the pot with serious eyes. "At most."

"Sounds good, the kids are hungry."

Seven already was close to leaving again, but Sice pulled her closer for a second. She wouldn't waste that opportunity.

A kiss landed on her lips and they quickly broke apart again, watching how Seven got flustered by the sudden peck.

"Love ya." She snickered and turned to the stove again, leaving Seven just standing there.

" … Just you wait, you get that back later." With a smiling shake of her head Seven finally left now.

It was just a normal day in the orphanage with all the obstacles it came with, there were good and bad days, but most of all it was the future they strove and wished for.

A future they created to bring peace to Orience.


End file.
